Allen, Argonauts eliminate Eskimos from playoff contention

Oct 15, 2006 - 1:19 AM
EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Damon Allen and the Toronto
Argonauts proved all good things must come to an end - even for
the Edmonton Eskimos.

Allen passed for two touchdowns as the Argonauts held on for a
28-25 triumph over the defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos.

With the victory, Toronto (10-6) eliminated Edmonton (5-11) from
postseason contention. The Eskimos entered the season with a
34-year streak of qualifying for the playoffs, the longest
active run of consecutive postseason appearances in North
American professional sports.

Trailing, 10-7, the Argonauts took the lead for good when Allen
found Andre Talbot for a nine-yard TD with 8:26 remaining in the
third quarter.

Toronto added insurance four minutes into the final period when
Allen connected with Arland Bruce for a 28-yard scoring strike,
pushing the advantage to 21-10.

Edmonton would not go down without a fight, however, as Ricky
Ray threw a 12-yard TD to Jason Tucker with 3:52 remaining. Ray
found Tucker on the ensuing two-point conversion to trim the
deficit to 21-18.

But Toronto all but sealed the victory when cornerback Byron
Parker intercepted Ray and returned it for a 75-yard TD,
extending the lead to 28-18 with 1:14 remaining.

The brother of NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, Damon Allen
completed 12-of-20 attempts for 223 yards. His favorite target
was Tony Miles, who had 91 yards on five receptions for the
Argonauts, who own a two-point lead over the Montreal Alouettes
(9-7) for first place in the East Division.

Ray threw for 332 yards, a TD and two interceptions on 27-of-48
passing. Tucker had eight receptions for 136 yards for the
Eskimos.